Arkansas is known as The Natural State, but now North Little Rock citizens are asking: for how long?
"It kind of makes me sick to my stomach a little bit because it really is taking away from the natural beauty of the area," said resident Becky Ragsdale.
A developer is working with the city of North Little Rock to purchase 45 acres of land at the Big Rock Quarry for a $1.2 million dollar price tag. That's half a million dollars less than what the land was appraised for one year ago.
"They're getting a bargain, they're the first people to even make an offer on it, and it's way too soon to let this go because once we sell it it's gone forever," said another resident, John Crow.
The riverfront property is used for hiking, biking, and is even responsible for how the region got its name. But with the possibility of 350 new condos taking it over, bikers might want to find a new place to pedal.
"We're a landlocked city," said Crow. "We're not going to have more land to build on but we're not at the point yet where we need to sacrifice what should be public spaces to build homes on."
Last week, the city council heard the firms plans for construction, showing they're ready to start and just waiting on a vote. However, on the phone today the developer said it's too early to confidently say that the project would benefit the area. Residents are wondering, what's the rush?
"We need to preserve what we have," said Ragsdale.
Council members we spoke to say they haven't made up their minds yet and want to hear from citizens before they could potentially vote on the development at the Monday night meeting.
